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Buffalo Bill Cody and the Melting Adobe House

After exploring the incredible Phoenix Trotting Park, I knew it would be a difficult site to top. I called and texted a few people at home and then enjoyed a leisurely lunch.

from Phoenix I drove an hour and a half to the outskirts of Dateland, Arizona to explore a couple of neat old ruined houses. The area is extremely rural with desert as far as the eye can see. The roads were unpaved, but thankfully not very rough.

This old stone house was rumored to have been built by Buffalo Bill Cody, the most famous American of his time. I can't say whether or not the house really did belong to him, but if it did, this place should be registered as a historical landmark.

I love the old fireplace.

The flattened remains of a structure in the yard.

I found it interesting that the top of the window's wooden frame remained after the stone on top of it had weathered away.

Careful not to cause any damage, I climbed up onto one of the walls to get a broader view of the layout.

The corral held up remarkably well over the years.

From the Buffalo Bill Cody ruins I went in search of some neat old adobe ruins I'd heard about.

I was driving down a long dirt road when I came to an intersection with this sign and had to snap a picture. I would've loved to meet the bitch after whom the road was named, but I didn't want to incur her wrath by trespassing, so I decided not to risk it.

A lonely silo I passed along the way.

I arrived at the adobe ruins as the sun was setting, so I scrambled to get my exploration on, and take as many pictures as I could before darkness fell.

The sky made for a beautiful backdrop.

I have no idea when this place was built or who built it. Adobe structures can last a really long time, which is pretty surprising considering they're made of baked earth and straw.

I wonder what this large adobe circle looked like in its prime and how tall it once stood.

I love the way the adobe bricks weathered over time. They almost appear to be slowly melting.

The inside.

One of the most interesting features of this place was the bunker in the yard. There used to be an old refrigerator door leading to the top of the ladder, but everything has caved in over time. Now the ladder pokes up through the collapsed earth.

I wonder if anything interesting buried down there, but I wasn't about to try to excavate.

When the sky grew dark, I headed back toward Phoenix. It had been an exciting day and I was ready for a good night's rest.

The next day promised to be an interesting one. With about a dozen abandoned places to check out on the way to Tucson, I'd need to get an early start.

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